FEMA P-784 CD, Substantial Damage Estimator (SDE) (2015)

The SDE tool was developed by FEMA to assist State & local officials in determining substantial damage for residential & non-residential structures in accordance with a local floodplain management ordinance meeting the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The tool can be used to assess flood, wind, wildfire, seismic, & other forms of damage. It helps communities provide timely substantial damage determinations so that reconstruction can begin following a disaster.

While the SDE data collection and reporting engine remains relatively unchanged from Version 2.1, SDE 2.2 has been updated with a new look and feel to allow for ease of use on Microsoft Surface tablets. SDE 2.2 is compatible with Windows Operating Systems up to and including Windows 8. Other new functionality includes a Damaged Undetermined checkbox with a list of dropdown options for users to select why a property could not be inspected. Dropdown options include; No Physical Damage Sustained, Vacant Lot/Property, Resident Refused Inspection or Address Does Not Exist.

General Guidance for Installation & Use of SDE 2.2

- Before installing the new version, export any existing SDE data that you want saved from previous SDE versions.
- Uninstall all previous versions of SDE from the host computer.
- SDE v2.2.2 includes performance enhancements for the Excel export process. The SDE 2.2.0 User Manual and Field Workbook and SDE 2.2.0 Tool Installation Guide apply to v2.2.2..

The Substantial Damage Estimator Best Practices was developed to provide suggested approaches for dealing with some of the challenging situations users may encounter while using the SDE Tool. To download this publication, visit http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/26753